Kathleen Tornatore honored for enduring achievements in renal transplant research

By Kara Sweet

Published June 15, 2021

Kathleen Tornatore, PharmD ’81, professor of pharmacy practice, has been selected to receive a 2021 University at Buffalo Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award.

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“Her work shows great promise to positively impact the field of renal transplantation and improve health and wellness, especially in marginalized communities and communities of color. ”
James M. O'Donnell, PhD, Dean
University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kathleen Tornatore.

The award recognizes an unprecedented accomplishment in a senior scholar's career, distinguishing a body of work of enduring importance that has gone beyond the norm in a particular field of study.

Tornatore’s clinical research program has been an ongoing collaboration with the Division of Nephrology at Erie County Medical Center for over 20 years, focusing on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics of immunosuppressive agents during renal transplantation based on age, race and sex.

In 2018, she received a a five-year, $3.27 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund her clinical trial “Age and Race Influences on Immunosuppression after Renal Transplant.” Her research addresses the disproportional impact of chronic kidney disease on certain racial groups, particularly African Americans, who are four times more likely to progress to end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or transplantation.

“Dr. Tornatore has proven herself to be a distinguished scholar and internationally recognized researcher in her field and has made great impact within the field of renal transplantation,” says James M. O’Donnell, PhD, dean, UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “Her work shows great promise to positively impact the field of renal transplantation and improve health and wellness, especially in marginalized communities and communities of color.”

Combining patient care with research

A highly accomplished clinician-scientist, Tornatore has trained and mentored hundreds of pharmacy and postbaccalaureate students from across the health sciences. Her research and clinical sites have provided many of these students with a unique rotational experience that emphasizes the connection between patient care and research.

She has also been the Director of the Transplantation Immunosuppressive Clinical Pharmacology Program since 2000.

Through her collaborations with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and independent pharmacogenomics laboratories, she has developed a model for team-based clinical sciences. Her ability to partner across disciplines has led to her inclusion as an investigator in the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute and as a faculty mentor in the KL2 Scholars Program.

Tornatore is an accomplished clinician-scientist with a total of 42 peer-reviewed publications in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals. She is very active at local and statewide meetings as well as national and international scientific meetings, with a total of 126 published abstracts and many invited presentations.

In 2008, she was elected Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and in 2015 she was elected Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation, an honor bestowed on very few pharmacists. She has been an invited speaker of both societies for over 25 years.

Tornatore will receive her award at the University at Buffalo Celebration of Academic Excellence this fall.

For over 130 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 14 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information about the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences visit pharmacy.buffalo.edu.